February 2013 posts

02/28/2013

As I mentioned earlier this week, Violet's ConstellationsGeranium dress was where we started...but the second thing on my mind were these Star Pillows...
After hearing from so many of Violet's friend's parents about how their children loved the sparkly star invitation
I thought that they would surely like a star pillow to take home with them at the end of the party too!

Each pillow had soft cream flannel on one side and cotton on the other. Sewing these pillows up was simple because I left the raw edges exposed. They weren't, however, quick...but that's only because I made eleven of them!

Want to make one yourself? Here is my
Star template, print it out at 100% and match up the lines. Cut out your fabric. Sew around the edges with a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a ~2" opening along one of the sides. Fill your star with stuffing. Pin the opening closed and then carefully and slowly stitch up the opening on your machine. And there you have it, a huggable star pillow...

Of course, you could make lots and have a seriously fun pillow fight!
Two more little star craft projects found their way into the planning and prepping...

The star tablecloth was simply an idea that would let Violet help in the crafting...We made simple star stamps using foam star stickers...
And then stamped and stamped onto about two yards of fabric...

It wasn't perfect...But, she had so much fun! And, it looked pretty cool in the end...
Lastly, star crayons...
These weren't on the agenda at all. I bought the mold on a whim to make the star candies...

But, once I got home from the store with the star mold, I suddenly thought "star crayons"! Which, incidentally, solved my issue of filling our pinata without over stuffing it with candy and without breaking the bank!

To make the crayons, I raided our recycle bins of a few cans, separated all of the crayons into like colors, broke them into small pieces, put them into the cans and baked them in the oven (@325 deg F) for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

A couple of things...Fortunately I used an old (and not my only) glass pyrex dish, unfortunately, I didn't think about the fact that I might spill and splatter crayons all over it...oops, destined for crayon making now and forever, I suppose. I DID make my candies before the crayons, don't worry. Making crayons takes a long time if you only have one mold. You will likely need to put your cans back into the oven to liquefy the crayons again and again. Your house will smell like a crayon factory even with the exhaust fan on and a window open. I made the crayons while the kids were at school one day. Despite the fact that it took a while, I still loved the finished product.
And, lastly, I was afraid that the kids might think that the crayons were candy as they were coming out of a pinata...So I used a bit of hot glue (let the hot glue cool slightly before putting the crayon on or use glue dots) and glued the crayons to a little card letting them know it was a crayon.
Of course, a couple of the crayons fell off their cards in the fall from the pinata...But, only two kiddos were seen biting into them...the oldest, Violet, and the youngest one there...don't worry both moms were there to stop them before they bit all the way down...

Alrighty, I think that's the end of the stars...Hope you enjoyed the impromptu week of stars. I did!

Oh, and Ps...today is the last day to sign up for the Covert Robin gift swap...you can sign up here...

To start, fold paper plate in half
and tape closed (this helps when you are cutting)Cut out template along the black lines and tape it to your folded plate.
Next, simply cut your plate using the template as your guide. Cut only along the red lines. After you have finished cutting, remove tape and template and open up your plate.Flip up the star.
And there you have it, a hat!
Initially Violet and I thought to decorate the hats ourselves for her friends before they got here, but then she thought that they might like to decorate them themselves. So, we set the paper star crowns up at our craft table along with stick on jewels, stickers, glitter glue, markers, pencils and crayons and let them decorate as they wanted.

I wore mine around the entire first half of the party, sorry, no photo of that though.

I'm thinking we might need to pull these out again around the Fourth of July!

Oh, and lest you think it was all crafts at the party...there was also a big pile of pillows and blankets for moon and star watching...

02/26/2013

Alrighty, so I've got to admit something...I may have suggested a "starry night" celebration to Violet based completely on my love for Lizzy House's new Constellations line of fabric...

Well, that is partially true.

But, we do, truly, love stars and constellations here in this house. Fancy Nancy, might have a bit to do with that, she's got two books about stargazing and planetariums. But, I've always loved stars and star watching. My mom and I used to wake up in the middle of the night to view meteor showers, even in the middle of winter. And, it seems, that Violet and Henry seem to enjoy night time sky viewing as well. So far Violet a bit more than Henry, but I think that that has more to do with attention span...

This dress pattern is being whipped up by so many people right now, just check out the flickr pool full of them! And, it's no wonder! This dress is so fun to make. It is full of variations. It really is the perfect dress to make or to use as a starting point! I've already got my head and sewing queue filling up with new ones to make. I made this first one with the gathered skirt and faux cap sleeves.

I used snaps in the back instead of buttons, for three reasons: 1) I thought that the star buttons I purchased would be too fiddly to fasten and unfasten all of the time 2) I didn't have any other buttons that I liked, aside from making fabric covered ones 3) snaps are faster and easier to put in for me, and to do and undo for a toddler...

I let Violet pick out the lining fabric. She chose these trees that I used for one of my Washi tunics.
I like how the two fabrics go together in color and also in the outdoorsy "theme".

To finish the dress I wanted to add some fun constellations as a little surprise for Violet. I started with the constellation Cassiopeia, our favorite constellation.
It is one of the easiest constellations to pick out in the sky, a big M or W, depending on how you look at it...I found some stars on the dress that I could connect into the constellation and embroidered in between them.

My intention was to add Orion and the Big Dipper to the skirt as well. I only finished Orion in time for her party. She didn't like it. I pulled it out Saturday morning. It was a bit frustrating, but then again, I didn't want her to be disappointed with the dress. She had been staring at it for a week, hanging on it's hanger, anxiously waiting to wear it, because it was "just so beautiful!". I certainly didn't want her to think I had taken away from it's beauty!

Fortunately though, she did love Cassiopeia!
And, the entire dress! She could not wait to put it on and twirl!

And, not to be left out...Henry had to have a star shirt of his own, of course...
And, a few things before I go...

Violet's beautiful jewelry was made by her...

No, we did not have a party with pink eye...it's a cold in her eye...these two munchkins had a fabulous time at the party only to end the weekend, both of them, with ear infections in both ears! (Both are feeling better now.)

More pictures and instructions for the star hat this week...

And, lastly, I forgot to say this yesterday, but, I totally felt like I was decorating for the prom or a high school dance while hanging all of those stars for the party! I was having flashbacks to many dance decorating times with friends, except for the fact that this time I was doing it solo and drinking wine...

02/25/2013

After a week of Daddy away on business and me crafting, sewing and cleaning instead of sleeping we were all ready to celebrate Violet's 5th Birthday...A Starry Starry Night...
(Invite made with sticky backed glitter paper stuck to card stock and cut into star shape)

(Black wrapping paper decorated with stars using a silver pen, then connect the dots for a "Happy Birthday" Constellation!)

I always feel a bit crazy when I am planning parties, like "why the heck am I doing this?!"

But, the truth is, I really like to do it! It's so much fun! It makes me happy. And, honestly, I would be doing all of this whether or not I had this blog...b/c there were three birthdays before I started this blog where I "over extended" myself! Ha Ha! It's just fun for me!

Oh, but I think Brad might plan business trips out of town the week before a party just so he doesn't have to get involved in my craziness anymore.

Anywho, I do have a few DIYs to share from the party...hopefully this week...Have a great day!

02/22/2013

Welcome...

I'm Jane, thanks for stopping by! I hope you take your time and take a look around...If you do you'll our adventures in sewing, creating, crafting, gardening and exploring...it's what gets us through the day and fullfills us!
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